Jeremiah's Letter to the Jews in Babylonia
1 I wrote a letter to the priests, the prophets, the leaders of the people, and to all the others whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken away as prisoners from Jerusalem to Babylonia. 2 I wrote it after King Jehoiachin, his mother, the palace officials, the leaders of Judah and of Jerusalem, the engravers, and the skilled workers had been taken into exile. 3 I gave the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah was sending to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. It said:
4 “The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those people whom he allowed Nebuchadnezzar to take away as prisoners from Jerusalem to Babylonia: 5 ‘Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what you grow in them. 6 Marry and have children. Then let your children get married, so that they also may have children. You must increase in numbers and not decrease. 7 Work for the good of the cities where I have made you go as prisoners. Pray to me on their behalf, because if they are prosperous, you will be prosperous too. 8 I, the Lord, the God of Israel, warn you not to let yourselves be deceived by the prophets who live among you or by any others who claim they can predict the future. Do not pay any attention to their dreams. 9 They are telling you lies in my name. I did not send them. I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken.’
10 “The Lord says, ‘When Babylonia's seventy years are over, I will show my concern for you and keep my promise to bring you back home. 11 I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for. 12 Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will answer you. 13 You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart. 14 Yes, I say, you will find me, and I will restore you to your land. I will gather you from every country and from every place to which I have scattered you, and I will bring you back to the land from which I had sent you away into exile. I, the Lord, have spoken.’
15 “You say that the Lord has given you prophets in Babylonia. 16 Listen to what the Lord says about the king who rules the kingdom that David ruled and about the people of this city, that is, your relatives who were not taken away as prisoners with you. 17 The Lord Almighty says, ‘I am bringing war, starvation, and disease on them, and I will make them like figs that are too rotten to be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with war, starvation, and disease, and all the nations of the world will be horrified at what they see. Everywhere I scatter them, people will be shocked and terrified at what has happened to them. People will make fun of them and use their name as a curse. 19 This will happen to them because they did not obey the message that I kept on sending to them through my servants the prophets. They refused to listen. 20 All of you whom I sent into exile in Babylonia, listen to what I, the Lord, say.’
21 “The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, has spoken about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are telling you lies in his name. He has said that he will hand them over to the power of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, who will put them to death before your eyes. 22 When the people who were taken away as prisoners from Jerusalem to Babylonia want to bring a curse on someone, they will say, ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylonia roasted alive!’ 23 This will be their fate because they are guilty of terrible sins—they have committed adultery and have told lies in the Lord's name. This was against the Lord's will; he knows what they have done, and he is a witness against them. The Lord has spoken.”
The Letter of Shemaiah
24-25 The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, gave me a message for Shemaiah of Nehelam, who had sent a letter in his own name to all the people of Jerusalem and to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah and to all the other priests. In this letter Shemaiah wrote to Zephaniah:
26 “The Lord made you a priest in place of Jehoiada, and you are now the chief officer in the Temple. It is your duty to see that every crazy person who pretends to be a prophet is placed in chains with an iron collar around the neck. 27 Why haven't you done this to Jeremiah of Anathoth, who has been speaking as a prophet to the people? 28 He must be stopped because he told the people in Babylonia that they would be prisoners there a long time and should build houses, settle down, plant gardens, and eat what they grow.”
29 Zephaniah read the letter to me, 30 and then the Lord told me 31-32 to send to all the prisoners in Babylon this message about Shemaiah: “I, the Lord, will punish Shemaiah and all of his descendants. I did not send him, but he spoke to you as if he were a prophet, and he made you believe lies. He will have no descendants among you. He will not live to see the good things that I am going to do for my people, because he told them to rebel against me. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Waraga Yeremaya ro Yudai se Babelona ya ana ri
1 Ono ni waraga se Yeremaya kozobe kohanii, nebii, dri'bai lidri ro, ndi vona cini se Nebukadenezara kurube kamba'bai ro ni Yerusalema yasi le Babelona ya kai ri owo. 2 Nda egyite tuse äru 'Bädri'ba Jehoiakina, endre ndaro, dri'bai losi ro zo'desi miri ro ro, dri'bai Yuda ro ndi Yerusalema robe, logo ŋgaede'bai, ndi losioye'bai se tauniekye arube midiro ana vosi. 3 Ozo waraga se ana te Elasa ŋgwa Sapana ro ndi Gemaraya ŋgwa Ilekia robe rigye, se 'Bädri'ba Zedekia kabe ànya ozo Nebukadenezara 'Bädri'ba Babelona ro re kai. Waraga ana ya egyite nonye ekye:
4 “OPI Mbaraekye, Lu Yisaraele ro, ka ata lidri cini se nda ko'ba tana be Nebukadenezara ri urune kamba'bai ro ni Yerusalema yasi le Babelona ya kai ri ekye: 5 ‘Mìbe zoi ago mìri kigyesi. Nyìkyi'di ŋga ämvui amiro yasi ago mìnya ŋgase kabe omba kigye iyi. 6 Mìgye lagye ago nyà'do ŋgàga be. Ŋgàga amiro kogyeyi lagye tana ànya kiliti robe. Beṛo ämiri litine nyalakpa ago ko oti amiro ri egone vuru. 7 Mìye takado 'bakicii se mazo ami be kamba'bai ro kigyesi iyi yasi. Nyä̀mätu ma OPI ta ànyaro ta, tana ondro ka'do ànya ka'doyite kandrakado be, 'dooko nyà'dona kpa kandrakado be. 8 Ma, OPI Mbaraekye, Lu Yisaraele ro, ma miomba ozo ämiri mì'ba nebii se ami lako iyi ndi ànya se kayibe ata tori avo robe iyi kodoyi ami ko. Mìga bi ko ta tori ànyaro roya. 9 Ànya kayi koweoga ämiri ävuru maro si. Mazo ànya koni. Ma, OPI, matani.’
10 “OPI ka ata ekye: ‘Ondro ndroa Babelona ro se 'butenjidrieri 'do kokyete oko, mikyina 'da amire ago mätina tao'ba maro 'da ago mologona ami 'da kovole 'bäru. 11 Mäni tavoora maro ta amiro ta ni, tavoora se kandrakado eziza ayani ko rriti, tavoora ta tamileya rota ndi mio'ba be. 12 'Dooko mìzina ma 'da, nyìkyina 'da ago nyä̀mätuna ma 'da, ago mazana tadri amiro 'da. 13 Mìṛina ma 'da, ago nyùsuna ma 'da ondro mìṛi ma te ya cini amiro si owo. 14 Nyusuna ma 'da, ago mago mologona kandrakado amiro 'da. Mokotona ami 'da ni vo 'bädri cini ro yasi ago ni vo cini se mepere ami be kigyesi iyi yasi, ago mezina ami 'da kovole wari se mazo ami be ni kigyesi midiro 'do ya. Ma, OPI, matani.’
15 “Nyà ata mikye OPI ozo nebii te ämiri Babelona ya. 16 Oko nyèri tase OPI kabe atana ta 'bädri'ba se kabe 'bädri se Dawidi kimiribe mirina ono rota ago ta lidri cini se 'bakici ya ono rota, 'didirii amiro se äru kote kamba'bai ro tro ami yibe iyi. 17 OPI Mbaraekye ka ata ekye: ‘Ma oye kyila, mä'bu, ndi adravo kozi be ezine ànya dri, ago ma'bana ànya 'da a'done oso kyi'du se koŋgwa be koziro se si kote onyane ana ronye. 18 Malanjana ànya 'da kyila, mä'bu, ndi adravo kozi be si, ago ya tu'dei cini 'bädri ro osona 'da ànya lomvo. Vose cini mabe ànya pere kigyesi, lidri na otrinayi ànya 'da ago a'donayi 'da turiro ago lä'bilä'biro ago ugunayi ànya 'da ta tase ka'dobe ànyari ono rota. 19 Ta ono a'dona 'da ànyari tana ànya royi lazo se mugu ezona be ànyari ruindu'bai maro nebii si ana kote. Ànya gayitezo tana erine. 20 Vo ami cini ro se mazobe midiro Babelona ya ono, nyèri tase, Ma, OPI, mabe atana ono.’
21 “OPI Mbaraekye, Lu Yisaraele ro, atate ta Aba ŋgwa Kolaya ro ndi Zedekia ŋgwa Manase robe rota, se kayibe koweoga ämiri ävuru maro si. Nda atate ekye yozona ànya 'da drì Nebukadenezara 'Bädri'ba Babelona ro ro ya, ago nda ufuna ànya 'da mile amiro yasi. 22 Tana lidri se ärube kamba'bai ro ni Yerusalema yasi le Babelona ya iyi otrinayi latri 'da ekye: ‘Lu koye mi oso koye Zedekia ndi Aba be be ronye, se 'bädri'ba Babelona ro lo'bi ànya te asi si lidriidriro!’ 23 Tana ànya yeyi takozi te Yisaraele ya, ànya yeyi ronyi te 'ditoko ànyaro drisi ago gayi kowe te ävuru OPI rosi. 'Do ko ole OPI ro; nda ni tase ànya koyeyibe ana te, ago nda orivoya tazevoedre'ba yi ànya lomvo. OPI atani inye.”
Taegyi Semaya ro
24 OPI Mbaraekye, Lu Yisaraele ro, ezo lazo te ma Yeremaya ri ozone Semaya Nehelama'ba ri, 25 se zo waraga te ävuru modo ndaro rosi lidri cini Yerusalema ro ago kohani Zefanaya ŋgwa Maseya ro ndi kohanii cini be ri se ekye: 26 “OPI 'ba mi te a'done kohani ro vo Jehoiada roya, a'done drikaca be Yekalu ya, 'dise cini amaamaro kayibe iyi o'ba miomba si a'done nebii ro iyi kyembe na embene nyori se taŋbiri be 'do si. 27 Oko tana e'di mi'bidri Yeremaya Anatota'ba ro se ka'dobe atavoya oso nebi ronye ono roko niya? 28 Yeremaya ititate lidri se Babelona ya ana ri ekye: ‘Mi'ba zoi ago mìri kigyesi. Nyikyi'di ŋga ämvui amiro yasi ago mìnya ŋgase kabe omba kigye iyi.’ ”
29 Kohani Zefanaya zi waraga se ana te ma Yeremaya ri, 30 ago 'dooko OPI atate märi ekye: 31 “Mizo lazo ono kamba'bai se cini orivoya Babelona ya ana ri ta Semaya ro ono ta ekye: ‘Tana Semaya atate ämiri oso ago nda nebi yi, oko se mazo nda koni ago 'ba ami te omane kowe ya. 32 Ta'dota ma OPI mezana Semaya 'da ndi zelevoi cini ndaro yibe. Nda unina ko a'done zelevoi be ami lako. Nda unina ko orine lidriidriro takado se ma oyebe oyene lidri maro ri ono ondrene, tana nda atate ànyari ogbone mabe. Ma, OPI, matani.’ ”